Purdue enters the college basketball season as the favorite
The 2025-26 men’s college basketball season tips off in earnest Monday night with 100 games on the slate. Every team across the country is hoping to cut down the nets in April of 2026, but only one team can do it.
The AP Top 25 rankings have some familiar teams at the top. Purdue is the top team in the AP poll and the Coaches Poll, followed by Houston, Florida, and Connecticut.
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The betting odds aren’t exactly aligned with the polls, though. The sportsbooks have some teams a bit higher and lower than the preseason rankings. Here’s a look at the 10 teams with the best betting odds to win the national championship in 2026.
2026 College Basketball Championship Odds
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Purdue | +750 |
| Houston | +900 |
| Duke | 13/1 |
| Kentucky | 13/1 |
| Connecticut | 14/1 |
| Florida | 14/1 |
| Texas Tech | 16/1 |
| Michigan | 16/1 |
| St. John’s | 16/1 |
| BYU | 18/1 |
While it’s great to be considered a contender before the season, it doesn’t guarantee much once the games get rolling, especially in March.
The last team to enter the regular season as the betting favorite to win the national championship and actually pull it off was Baylor in 2021.
We can safely call that season an outlier due to the games being played with very few fans in attendance and the NCAA Tournament being held in one city. The last preseason favorite to hoist the trophy and sing “One Shining Moment” in a normal season was North Carolina in 2009.
That said, the books consider these four teams worthy of short odds as we get set for the season to start.
Purdue (+750)
The Boilermakers lost to Houston by the skin of their teeth in the Sweet 16 last season, a year after falling short in the national championship game to UConn.
This season, they return guard Braden Smith, who is also the favorite to win the Wooden Award (+450) at BetMGM. According to KenPom’s college basketball rankings, Purdue is projected to have the best offense in the country.
Houston (+900)
The Cougars had been knocking at the door of a national championship game appearance for years under head coach Kelvin Sampson and finally got over that hurdle last season.
They couldn’t get over the final hump, but Sampson has consistently kept his team competing at the highest level with defense. Both KenPom and Bart Torvik’s rankings have Houston as the top-rated defense in the country by a comfortable margin.
Duke (13/1)
It seems like every year the Blue Devils have a ton of buzz surrounding their latest freshman class, and this year is no different. There’s plenty of anticipation around the Boozer twins, Cameron and Cayden, but the former has the second-best odds (+700) to win the Wooden Award at BetMGM. He’ll have big shoes to fill after the season Cooper Flagg had, nearly taking Duke to the championship game last season. The Blue Devils are the No. 2 team in Torvik’s rankings but No. 7 for KenPom.
Betting on College Basketball?
Kentucky (13/1)
The Wildcats have a lot of talent on their roster, but two players who are expected to be big contributors are injured to start the season. Guard Jaland Lowe injured his shoulder in a scrimmage, and forward Jayden Quaintence is still recovering from an ACL injury he suffered in the spring.
Otega Oweh returns after leading Kentucky in points (16.2) and steals (1.6) last season. Despite the injury concerns, KenPom has Kentucky ranked fourth, while Torvik has them ranked 14th.
The Florida Gators fell just below the top four teams in terms of their odds — tied with UConn with 14/1 odds to win it all— but they are still a force to be reckoned with after winning it all last season. They lost some key members of their championship team, but have Thomas Haugh and Alex Condon returning.
Both KenPom and Torvik have Florida projected as one of the top-five teams in the country, and I think there’s some value in betting them at 14/1 before the season tips.
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Malik Smith has been immersed in the sports betting industry since 2017. He’s a data nerd with a particular focus on the NBA and combat sports. He spends his weeknights in the winter looking for edges on plus-money NBA player props.
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